King Charles is reportedly concerned about the mental health of his estranged brother, Prince Andrew.
The Duke of York has been keeping a low profile lately as he voluntarily withdrew from attending the Royal Family Christmas celebrations at Sandringham following his links to an alleged Chinese spy.
The disgraced Duke spent the occasion with his former wife, Sarah Ferguson, at their residency, Royal Lodge, which has been the center of a long-standing dispute between him and Charles.
However, according to a former BBC royal correspondent, King Charles does not want to completely isolate Prince Andrew despite of their feud and he is worried that his younger brother's already fragile mental state may deteriorate further
"Nothing is going to change the fact that Andrew is Charles’s brother. The family already has two totally estranged brothers, it doesn’t need any more,” Jennie Bond told Mirror.
She continued, “So I think this is a year when the King will try to keep the situation with Andrew calm and under control. A lot depends on what, if any, further stories or allegations are made against the Duke in the coming months.
"That will dictate whether Charles will ever invite him to be part of private family gatherings or not. At the moment I don’t think the King wants to exacerbate the situation by taking punitive action,” Bond added.
Jennie Bond further added that with Andrew said to be “depressed”, King Charles worries that "Kicking a man when he’s down can take a dangerous toll on mental health."
